http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1052844/Hammers-closing--thats-best-news-England-while.htmlHammers closing in... and that's the best news England have had for a while
By NEIL ASHTON Last updated at 8:57 PM on 05th September 2008
West Ham are confident of appointing Croatia coach Slaven Bilic as
their new manager after Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against England.
After
a dramatic day of developments at Upton Park, Sportsmail can reveal
that the former Hammers defender has intimated that he is ready for the
challenge of English football - a move that could, ironically, help
England's World Cup campaign.
Former Italy coach Roberto
Donadoni, who was interviewed for the position yesterday afternoon, is
now the fall-back option for the West Ham board after a tense 24 hours
at Upton Park.
The
Hammers have made it clear to Bilic that they wanted the new man in
place before next Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash against West
Brom and he is ready to talk to the club after Wednesday's match.
Donadoni,
the favoured choice of technical director Gianluca Nani, flew into
London's City Airport on Friday lunchtime to discuss the vacant
position, but the Hammers had just received positive noises from the
Bilic camp.
The Croatia chief has told West Ham that nothing will
distract him from earning six points in the qualifying group over the
next five days - first against Kazakhstan on Saturday and against
England in Zagreb on Wednesday - but he is ready for a move to the
Premier League.
Despite a steady stream of public denials from the former
Hammers defender, he has always been the club's first choice and it is
now understood that the club have been given sufficient encouragement
to plan a formal approach to the Croatia FA next week.
The timing of that approach will be delicate because of the impact it could have on Croatia's spectacular recent form.
Bilic
has told friends that he does not want his preparations for the two key
qualifying matches to be disrupted by an official approach before next
Wednesday's clash with England at the Maksimir Stadium.
His stock
soared after they twice beat England in the Euro 2008 qualifying series
and their appearance in the quarter-finals was also another notable
achievement.
The Croatia chief had initially told the Hammers
board that he wanted more time to consider the prospect of returning to
Upton Park, but chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson wants to appoint Alan
Curbishley's successor without delay.
Nani's role as technical
director was, initially, understood to be a hurdle for Bilic, but the
Hammers are prepared to redefine the role if Bilic arrives at Upton
Park.
Target man: Ex-West Ham defender Bilic is Hammers fans first choice for new manager at Upton Park
The
Hammers' technical director originally wanted to implement a two-tiered
continental coaching structure at the club and was pushing Donadoni's
cause during a board meeting earlier this week.
After Donadoni,
the next choice would be Roberto Mancini. But the former Inter Milan
boss, out of work since he was replaced by Jose Mourinho at the end of
last season, is probably out of reach, considering the financial
restraints Former Hibernian chief John Collins was also interviewed by
Nani and chief executive Scott Duxbury, but he is behind the main
candidates.
Collins impressed the Hammers board with his
confidence and his refreshing ideas during his interview, but the board
have set their sights firmly on Bilic.
Leaving the Croatia job
will be no easy matter, however, as Bilic confirmed when he spoke of
his pride at coaching his country. He said: 'There's definitely
something about playing in Zagreb. We have a great record here. Maybe
it's because our fans really make us feel at home.'
But Bilic
followed that up with a warning that Croatia will be showing no
complacency in what could be his final two games in charge of the
national team.
He said: 'We're not thinking about tomorrow's game
against Kazakhstan as foreplay before the England game. We wouldn't do
that. And because we think like that, we are fifth in the FIFA rankings.
'We
are a special team because we never under-estimate the opposition. We
are like Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus and Bayern Munich in
that we always play our best all the time.
'We want to make the
best result possible in every match. That means keeping going for the
entire 90 minutes against every team.'
Meanwhile, West Ham have
confirmed the signing of Uruguay fullback Walter Lopez on a year
contract. Lopez, 22, who has three caps, was a free agent after leaving
River Plate and had attracted interest from across Europe. He had
impressed during a recent trial at Upton Park.
Caretaker
manager Kevin Keen said: 'Walter is like (fellow new recruit) David Di
Michele, he is another West Ham-type player who will hopefully show
everyone at the club what he can do.'